Wanda Jackson reflects on her legacy, and Britney and Miley
by Adam Gold
- Photo: Cambria Harkey
- Long Live the Queen Wanda Jackson
Though we weren't able to reach rock 'n' roll legend Wanda Jackson in time to preview her Feb. 17 show at The 5 Spot in last week's paper—she was set to take the stage just hours after this issue went to press—we were able to get her on the phone and talk about her new generation of fans, her memories of Nashville, her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, her thoughts on Britney and Miley and, of course, her stewardship under Elvis Presley. What follows below is an excerpt from the interview, which you can read in its entirety on the Scene's music blog, Nashville Cream. (Note: Nashville Cream readers were asked to submit interview questions, one of which appears in this transcript.)
Nashville Cream: Are you excited about coming to Nashville?
Wanda Jackson: Sure, yeah, I like to go to Nashville. I don't get there as often as I'd like to, but it's always fun.
NC: Of what I'm sure are many experiences you've had in Nashville throughout your career, what has been your most memorable?
WJ: It's a place we love to eat. [Laughs.] Well, when Nashville comes to my mind I always think of the recording studio at Columbia. I never did live there, of course, so I think of the Spence Hotel. There used to be a kind of small specialty hotel called Spence, and it was across the street from the old [Country Music] Hall of Fame. It was very elegant, a very unique place. I think of that and the guys in the studio, you know, Grady Martin, Floyd Kramer, the Jordanaires, Charlie McCoy and all those guys. The sessions were just such fun because they were creative and worked with so many nice people, and they were so professional it just knocked me out to watch them work and see the ideas they came up with. It was fascinating to me.
NC: I want to congratulate you on your induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. Were you surprised when you found out about that?
WJ: It was like shock and awe, after all these years. I was beginning to think, well they've forgotten me totally. So that was nice.
NC: You are being inducted into the hall as an "early influence." In light of that, what do you feel is your greatest legacy?
WJ: I think being the first woman to do it is a pretty good legacy to leave. I know I've had girls tell me that they love this kind of music and they wanted to sing it, but until they heard me or saw me doing it they thought it was just men that could do this kind of music. I know at the beginning that's the way it was, and it's kind of like I gave girls permission to get in there and write their own songs and get out there and do it just like the guys. I changed the way of dressing for girls, at least in country music that crossed over into the rock and pop fields, by going to the more glamorous and sexy style of dressing.
NC: Do you think fashion is a big part of music?
WJ: Oh, absolutely, don't you?
NC: I would say so; I think the visual aspect is a big part of entertainment.
WJ: Yeah, you can just mention one item of clothing and you can almost say what artist, you know? Holes in the worn-out jeans—Dwight Yoakam. A bandanna around the head—Willie Nelson.
NC: One of the things our readers want to know is whether or not the story about you playing at the Grand Ole Opry and being forced to wear a jacket over spaghetti straps is true.
WJ: Oh yeah, that's a true story. And you know, I don't fault the Grand Ole Opry for that. I really don't. I want that to be mentioned, and they don't always mention it. They had invited me to come sing. This was the way I was dressing—of course, I'm a Midwesterner, and so a little more adventurous maybe. I had a special dress. I designed it, and my mother made it, and it was spaghetti strap and a sweetheart neck and silk fringes. When I got there, Ernest Tubb told me I'd have to cover up my shoulders cause women couldn't show their shoulders on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. I said, well, it's the only dress I brought with me, you know, so I don't know what to do. He said, well, you'll have to put a coat or something on. So I wore a jacket that evening. It was a nice-looking jacket; it was a leather one with the long fringe. I'm sure it looked all right, but it just broke my heart. So that was my experience with the Grand Ole Opry.
NC: You cut your first single at 16; what would you say is the difference between what you were doing at the time and what someone like Miley Cyrus or Britney Spears or other younger female singers are doing now? Do you feel like there is a connection to what you did then and what they do now?
WJ: I've never been asked that question, Adam. I do relate to them, I can say that much. How? Just by being a free spirit and doing it their way. You know, sometimes that doesn't work for artists; sometimes you're too far out or too different. It worked for me, and it works for them, so I understand that spirit of "let's be different, let's change this up a little bit, you know, it's time we do something else."
Email agold@nashvillescene.com, or call 615-844-9404.
Comments (0)